WEBVTT - Cougars, Babies & Porta Potties, Plus Gymnastics Talk with Ari Saperstein 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.640 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're reminded 0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:06.320 yet again not to depend on AI. 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:10.720 I asked chatpt for ten names. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:13.560 I want to hear them. 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:21.280 Sporty Sisters, game changers here, Hose here, O's here, Hers. 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:27.320 You your hose were. 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:29.400 Here? 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:33.280 Hoes Please I can't. 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.639 That's actually the new tagline for the sale right here, 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:38.120 Hose power. 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:44.640 Players Coract please us the cold open victory fixes No. 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:46.120 Nothing else matters Alex. 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:52.440 Nothing else matters here, Hoes. 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:57.840 Oh my god, never change, Alex, never change, Oh my god. 0:00:58.000 --> 0:00:59.640 On today's show, we're going to tell you how we 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:03.200 ended up at here Hose. Plus we got Cougar's porta 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:05.760 potties and a whole lot of tea to spill. Plus 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:09.560 we're hopping, flipping and jumping with blind Landing hosts Ari Sapristine. 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:11.319 He'll give you the tips in fact, you need for 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.959 all the gymnastics apparatus finals this weekend. 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:20.520 It's all coming up right after this. It's Friay, and 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:22.040 here's what you need to know today. 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:28.600 First of all, Saturday is Mech's birthday, Meche. 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.959 How old are you gonna be? Twenty seven? 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:33.000 Ew? 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:36.480 Super gross? Do you have any plans. 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:40.320 Uh right, now, hang out with my parents and possibly 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:42.560 go to the park. 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:46.080 You sound like a twenty seven year old. No, sixty 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:47.440 seven or twenty seven. 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:50.320 Look, I've been told I give grandparent energy, so that's 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:50.840 fine with me. 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:52.360 That's fine. I've been told. 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:54.240 Also, one of my closest friends said, I look like 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:56.520 I eat peas, So I feel like it all tracks a. 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.400 Good bege big grandparent energy. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.600 Love it, We love it. Happy birthday me, She have 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.840 a great weekend. Also, shout out to my parents. Saturday 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:11.880 is also my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary, and they have 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:15.280 spent like thirty plus years of it almost working together 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:18.200 as well. I truly don't know how they did it. 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:21.160 It feels unfathomable to me. Put shout out to fifty 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:26.440 years Nancy and Rick Spain. Okay, let's get to the sports. 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:30.080 In gymnastics, the all around final took place yesterday, with 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:33.560 Simone Biles winning gold, Brazil's Rebecca Andrage picking up silver, 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:36.120 and Sunny Lee coming in with bronze. We're gonna go 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:38.240 deep on gymnastics in just a bit on this show, 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.000 so you know we're gonna get to all. 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:40.480 The good stuff. 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:42.400 But let's just get a few facts out into the 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.480 world right now. First, with the gold, Biles becomes the 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.520 first woman to win two Olympic All around titles since 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.560 nineteen sixty eight. She also breaks a one hundred and 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.400 twenty year old record, becoming the first US gymnast to 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:59.000 win six Olympic medals. Also, Brazil's Rebecca Andrage whose name 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:02.800 is Portuguese and actually is Habeka, but we say Rebecca anyway. 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.880 She wins her second straight Olympic All Around silver. And 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:10.160 get this, she has torn her acl three times and 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:12.680 somehow she came back every time and got better. 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:13.760 That's incredible. 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:17.240 Finally, shout out Sonny Lee, Tokyo gold medalist in this event. 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:19.959 She's overcome so much these last three years, including two 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:23.200 kidney diseases, to return to the Olympic podium and get 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:25.799 that bronze. So shout out to Sunny and shout out 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.640 to her floor music. I freaking love that music. I 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:30.640 think I'm gonna start blasting it to clean the house. 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.680 Gold medal and the dishes, bitch. We're gonna have more 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:37.440 on the gymnastics, plus the upcoming individual apparatus competitions coming 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.440 up later in the show. In swimming, the US claimed 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:42.920 silver in the four by two hundred meter relay, finishing 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:46.600 two point seven eight seconds behind Australia. Katie Ladeki swam 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:48.360 the third leg of the relay for the US, and 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:51.640 with the silver medal, she becomes the most decorated American 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:55.720 woman at the Olympics ever. That's right, Ladeki now has 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:59.880 thirteen career medals, eight gold for silver and one bronze, 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:02.240 and she still got the eight hundred meters to swim. 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:04.800 Also in the pool, Kate Douglas won the two hundred 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.120 meter breaststroke, setting an American record and becoming the first 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.400 US athlete to win Olympic gold in the event since 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:14.160 twenty twelve Okay. In soccer, the US women's national team 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:16.159 finished as the top team in Group B and they'll 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:19.080 face Japan in the quarterfinals at nine am Eastern on 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:22.520 Saturday in Paris. You can watch on USA Network, Telemundo, 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:25.720 and Peacock. Japan opened its tournament with a narrow two 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:28.279 to one loss to reigning World Cup champion Spain, and 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:29.840 then they won their next two games, two to one 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:33.039 against Brazil and three to one against Nigeria. Japan's six 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:37.080 goals have all come from different players. Meanwhile, for the US, 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:40.240 Mele Swanson leads the scoring after pool play with three goals. 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:44.040 Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith have each scored two. The 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:46.719 past bodes well for the US in this matchup with Japan. 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:48.880 Entering the twenty twenty four Olympics. The US has a 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.640 thirty one to one and eight record against Japan. The 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:54.800 one loss in those forty matches came in a friendly 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:58.039 back in twenty twelve, but worth noting, Japan also won 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.240 the twenty eleven World Cup Final over the un US 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:03.040 and penalties, which technically goes down as a draw because 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.400 of the penalties, but it certainly stands out in the 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:07.919 minds of US players and fans as a major tournament 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:08.760 match to remember. 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:11.880 Be sure to watch the US nine am on Saturday 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:13.080 in hoops. 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:16.359 Sunday at eleven am, Eastern Team USA Basketball takes on 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:19.240 Germany in their last game of group play before the quarterfinals. 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:23.240 Germany has multiple WNBA players on its roster, including Dallas 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.520 Wings superstar Satusaboly, who put up thirty three points in 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:27.440 our teams win over. 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:28.200 Japan on Thursday. 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:32.159 You can catch USA Basketball on the USA Network and 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.840 in three x three. The US plays France today at 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.760 seven am Eastern and then Canada at twelve pm Eastern 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:38.640 on USA. 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:40.360 They'll close out pool. 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.320 Play on Saturday at one oh five pm Eastern against China. 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:46.360 They've had a real rough start to the tournament. They 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:48.240 got to perform in those three games to have any 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.240 chance of advancing. Of the eight teams, only the top 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:54.800 six make it to the knockout stage. In volleyball, the 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:58.000 US indoor team continues its Olympic gold medal defense with 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:00.560 a pool a match against France on Sunday at seven 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:04.080 am Eastern on NBC. After beating defending world champs Serbia 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:07.080 in a five set thriller on Wednesday, the US can 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:10.080 secure a spot in the quarterfinals with a win on Sunday. 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.320 Track gets going with a lot of qualifying and preliminary 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.680 rounds today and Saturday, highlighted by the triple jump final 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:19.880 and the race for the world's fastest woman get back. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:23.040 Queen Shaker Richardson, the reigning one hundred meters world champion, 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.280 is hoping to turn that world title into Olympic gold. 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.640 The one hundred meter final is Saturday at three to 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.960 twenty pm Eastern Sunday slate is highlighted by the high 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:36.120 jump final at one fifty Eastern. Finally, since I make 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:38.920 the rules around here, quick shout out to a dude, 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:43.360 Michael Grady, Cornell class of twenty nineteen, who helped tam 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:46.560 Usa snap a sixty four year drought by winning the 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:50.000 gold medal in the men's four rowing event at Cornell. 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:51.120 We see no gender. 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:57.760 We're all just big red bears. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:06:58.760 Okay. 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:01.000 So there's a ton of talk online about the women's 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:03.800 boxing competition, and we're going to get into gender testing 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:06.360 and the Olympics in detail next week, but for now, 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:08.080 I did want to make a quick note on what's 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.440 causing all this conversation. Okay, So, two female boxers in 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:14.640 these Paris Games were disqualified from the twenty twenty three 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:19.200 World Championships after failing gender eligibility tests. At that event, 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.560 Algeria's Iman Khalif and Chinese Type a's Lin Uting both 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:27.440 won medals in the women's competition, before boxing's then federation, 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:31.360 the IBA, announced that they'd failed gender eligibility tests and 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.320 strip them of their medals. In a statement on Thursday, 0:07:34.560 --> 0:07:37.080 the IOC said that at the World Championship event, the 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.320 two athletes were quote victims of a sudden and arbitrary 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:43.640 decision by the IBA towards the end of the IBA 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:47.240 World Championships in twenty twenty three. They were suddenly disqualified 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:51.200 without any due process unquote. The statement then goes on 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.880 to say, quote, the current aggression against these two athletes 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.480 is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:01.360 without any proper procedure, especially considering that these athletes had 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:05.080 been competing in top level competition for many years. Lynn 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.000 has been an elite level amateur boxer for a decade 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:11.920 and Khalif for six years. Both also already fought in 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:15.560 the Tokyo Games. The IBA Boxing's federation has long been 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:18.800 plagued by corruption scandals. It was suspended from twenty nineteen 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:20.760 to twenty twenty three, and then fully banished by the 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:23.600 IOC last year. This week, the IOC said that both 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.280 boxers met criteria to compete in Paris and had been 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:29.200 cleared to fight under the rules for the competition. So 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:32.880 on Thursday, Algeria's Khalif won her bout against Italy's Angela 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:36.400 Karini when Karini stopped fighting after forty six seconds Karani 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:38.560 was punched in the nose and shortly afterwards said she 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:40.960 didn't want to fight anymore. According to her coach, the 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.360 fight sparked discussions, many of them started or spurred on 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:48.760 by people on social media with many followers but few facts. 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.719 Those with a high profile have a responsibility to get 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:53.800 things right, and many are choosing not to do the 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:57.000 work to get educated or even it would appear read 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.760 a single damn story before they went on TV to 0:08:59.840 --> 0:09:03.320 talk about it, for instance, ESPN's Pat McAfee, who spent 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.880 five minutes talking about transgender competitors, despite the fact that 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.400 Mark Adams, the ioc IS chief spokesman, said on Thursday, 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.760 quote the two fighters were not transgender athletes and should 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:14.040 not be described as such. 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:15.600 Adams went on to. 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:19.199 Say, quote everyone competing in the women's category is complying 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:23.280 with the competition eligibility rules. We'll get into this more 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.040 next week, including the long fraught history of gender testing 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:29.000 and how athletes with DSDs that stands for differences in 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:32.880 sex development have been impacted by both changing regulations and 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.800 the challenges that arise when sports are categorized in a 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:39.240 binary way that human beings simply are not I just 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.800 want to remind and encourage people to handle these topics 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.000 with care. They're tricky and they're tough, and I get that, 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:47.280 and it is okay to have opinions about some of 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:50.440 these things, but it serves absolutely no one to spread 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:52.600 falsehoods or attack without facts. 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:53.640 Thank you. 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:57.520 Moving on, as we continue to debate the best name 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.439 for our show listeners, I'd like to thank Leah Kennedy 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:04.280 for emailing us and reminding us not to rely on AI. 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:08.360 Here's Leah quote high Team, good game, first and foremost. 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:09.480 I love this podcast. 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:13.200 It's sports, it's female legends, it's comedy, it's everything. I 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:15.520 wanted to try my hand at ideas for squad names, 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:18.120 and as a modern gal, I turned to Generative. 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:19.120 AI to help with some ideas. 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:21.960 I laughed out loud at the top suggestion it gave me, 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:27.160 and I just had to share winning wenches. This says 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.520 so much about the problems with jen AI and our 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:31.640 internet conversations about women in general. 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.920 It sure does, Leah. Okay, so Leah continues, So. 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.239 I went back to my own brain and a few suggestions, 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:40.720 taking some inspiration from Julie Foudy's Dope Village for Laughter, 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:44.200 permitted another favorite podcast and came up with one Good 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:48.360 Game Nation, two Spainer's Gamers, three Spain Squad. 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:51.080 Okay, thank you, Leah. 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:55.680 Winning Wenches is literally insane, but your other suggestions are cute. 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:57.240 I'm trying to keep the name about the show and 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:58.319 not me, so less. 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:00.920 Spain and more Good Game But Spain Gamers does have 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:03.400 a really nice ring to it. So okay, I put 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:05.960 together a shortlist of finalists and we're all gonna pick together, 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:11.120 probably unless I make this a Chicago election and I 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.120 stuffed the ballot box vote several times and make sure 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:15.120 that my favorite wins. 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:15.840 We'll see. 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:22.800 Okay, drum roll please, Good Game Nation GGN for short 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:28.840 gigin gig Giggling Giggles, the Gigglers, the giggles, Good Game Nation. 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:33.280 Some form of that breakers as in glass ceiling breakers 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:37.160 and game breakers, not to be confused with Olympic breakers, 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:39.440 because I know not all of y'all can move like that. 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:40.200 That might be tough. 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:46.679 Spanish Armada goonies for the win slices as an orange 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:48.480 slices that you get after a good game. 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:53.680 My little slices. I love saying my little slices. I 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:55.080 think you know what my favorite. 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:57.599 Is, but I'm open to the vote. 0:11:58.440 --> 0:11:59.959 Okay, we're gonna take a quick break. 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:03.040 Grab your leotard and chock up those hands, because when 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.840 we come back, we're talking all things gymnastics. 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:11.400 With Ari Saperstein joining us now. 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:14.640 Is the creator of the award winning podcast Blind Landing, 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:17.640 a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.560 The Wall Street Journal, Vox, The New Yorker, and The Advocate. 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:22.880 He used to be a chainsaw crew member for the 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:26.920 Southeast Conservation Corps, and he's an artist who makes tote bags, cartoons, 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.080 animated shorts, ceramic bulls and more. 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:32.960 It's Ari Sapristine. What a renaissance man. 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:36.319 I'm trying not to laugh too loud as to make 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:42.320 the audio levels go crazy spiking for that's That's That's 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:45.040 definitely my favorite intro I've I've ever gotten. You got 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.560 every side job, side hustle I've ever had in there. 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.040 So thank you, Sarah, and thanks for having me. 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.679 You and my producer Alex can chat about being multifaceted 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:58.160 in your in your expressions of art. She's an artist 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.679 as well, so I was obviously creep on your insta. 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:03.400 We're here to talk gymnastics, though, and you've done a 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.360 lot of gymnastics reporting for your podcast Blind Landing. I'm 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:08.720 wondering when you were watching either the team final or 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.040 the all around, is there a factor story that popped 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.160 into your mind, like, Oh, this is making me think 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:15.520 of that conversation I had or that fact I learned, 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:17.400 or I'm so glad I talked to this person because 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:18.960 now I know X as I'm watching this. 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.560 Yeah, I think that the number one headline thought that 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:25.160 I have had watching gymnastics at the Olympics so far 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.040 is that we are just seeing a new era of 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:33.400 gymnasts that are challenging every presumption that we had historically 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:38.400 as lay viewers about gymnastics. We're seeing older gymnasts than 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.119 we've you know, comparatively than we've seen in an extremely 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:45.000 long time. The majority of the US team is returning Olympians. 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:47.600 The majority of them are in their twenties. They're the 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:49.840 best team in the world. I think that says a 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.720 lot about how the sport and the culture of the 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:56.720 sport are now benefiting older athletes. We're seeing more athletes 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:59.640 of color, We're seeing more expressions out there on the 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:03.680 floor of different artistry and different identities. We're seeing a 0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:07.240 level of difficulty, of course, led by Simone Biles, that 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:10.280 just is leaps and bounds from where the sport was 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.520 fifteen years ago. I always it's impossible to talk about 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:19.960 gymnastics without making a million unintentionalspins and turns ahead. Yeah, exactly, 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:24.240 so you know, yeah, it's that's my big headline from 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.240 what I've been seeing out there at the parischemes. 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:28.800 I've seen it too, and what I've loved is the joy. 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:33.560 It used to feel so clenched. Everything felt so tight 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.200 and clenched, and I've liked how even in the moments 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:39.520 where Simona's had a little mistake, she has this smirk 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.560 that she sends either to coaches or family or teammates 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.160 on the sideline, almost to say, I'm disappointed, but I'm 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:46.680 going to smirk my way through it, and then I'm 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.240 going to smile because I'm leading this new culture of 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:53.520 joy and freedom while performing, which is so much better 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:54.000 to watch. 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:55.320 It makes me happier for them. 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:57.920 Let's talk about the joy for a second here, because 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:01.480 I just on blind landing had on Olympian Denusia Francis, 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:04.480 who is on the board of British gymnastics that's also 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:08.440 been going through cultural changes, competed at UCLA Gymnastics, a 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.840 collegiate team known for their joy She's really been this 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.640 person that's been a part of a new generation of 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:18.080 leaders who are gymnasts that we're competing in a more 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:21.200 joyless time ten to fifteen years ago, who've really wanted 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:24.240 to change that. And so it's not just a coincidence 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.680 or it's not just specific to the US team. It's 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:30.160 an international thing and it's a concerted effort led by 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:34.760 the generation that competed under a much more joyless time. 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:37.840 That's thought, I think the sport doesn't have to be 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:41.360 this way. And so we're also seeing USA Gymnastics now 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.680 led by former gymnasts who also competed ten fifteen years ago, 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:47.160 these people under the Marta Corole era, of course, under 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:50.080 the Larry Nasser era, who are coming out of it 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.520 and saying, yeah, we're going to make the sport safer 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:56.760 in terms of physical abuse and sexual abuse, but also 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:00.000 this emotional mental health aspect that we need to change 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:04.200 involves this shouldn't have to be so stressful. So walking 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:07.200 on eggshells, especially when there's so much pressure already, and 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:10.440 so we're seeing Simone out there high fiving and dancing 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.520 with their teammate Geordan Childs, who's like the poster child 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:14.360 for that attitude. 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:18.680 We're seeing it swinking mid event. Yeah, absolutely, how she's loose. 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:20.600 Yeah, so you know, I think you're right to note 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:25.040 that that it's It doesn't sound right related obviously to 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.920 what we're seeing in the field of play, but it 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.960 really is, because if you're more comfortable, you're gonna perform better. 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:35.280 We've been talking about that across multiple events. We just 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.000 had runner Nikki Hilts on the show and they talked 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:41.720 about how just being fully and transparently themselves helped them 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.400 run faster, compete better, fight harder at the end of 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:48.800 tough races. Like it's just a truth throughout life, across everything. 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.320 And it's been really really, really, really really fun to 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:54.920 watch with this US gymnastics team. Okay, the big ones 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:57.280 sort of are over. We got the team competition out 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:58.920 of the way, we got the all around out of 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:01.160 the way. Do you have any last minute thoughts on 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:02.600 all around you got to get in or should we 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:04.160 move on to individual apparatus? 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:07.080 Of course that's top of mind for me because I 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:11.240 just cannot believe how exciting and how close this competition 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:15.760 was because we saw a gymnast be a true challenge 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:19.960 to Simone Biles, who's been undefeated in her senior competition 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:23.399 for the past eleven years. This gymnast, hebeca andraje who 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:27.080 if Simone Biles wasn't around, we would be treating her 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.879 like Simone Biles. She is, in my opinion, the second 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:33.160 greatest gymnast who has ever lived. And we saw them 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:37.520 go head to head at their physical peaks here and Simone, 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.840 you know, ended up taking the title and winning her 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.760 second Olympic all around, but man, the closeness of that 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:48.440 race was so thrilling. And then the third place spot 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:51.240 was three gymnasts who were all neck and neck right there. 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.240 So you know, I mean, I think this is going 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:56.639 to go down as one of the most exciting all 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.480 around finals that we've seen in a very, very long time. 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:02.639 I agree, I don't like being nervous for Simone, but 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:05.359 when she wins at the end, I'm like, oh, good, competition, 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:05.920 that was fun. 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:06.440 That was fun. 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:10.760 I was so nervous for everyone, the whole competition for everyone. 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:14.280 Okay, so we've got the individual apparatus competitions this weekend 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:17.200 and on Mondays. So help us be smarter while we're 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.480 watching them. You got to give us one non American 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:22.040 athlete to look for in each apparatus. It can be 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:24.960 someone contending for gold or just someone with a great story, 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:28.359 just something that will make us smarter. For the vault, 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:29.960 bar's beam and floor. 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:33.199 First up vault, it's the shortest event. It's you know, 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:35.760 you just do one scale pushing off the vault table. 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:39.600 And of course Simone's there. She's got her eponymous skill, 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.600 the your chinko double pike that is about a point 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:45.680 more than almost any other vaults, so that's why she's 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.440 able to fall potentially and still wins. So whether or 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:51.320 not she puts that to her feet will be interesting. 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:53.200 She has fallen a couple of times in the past 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:56.800 year on that scale. There's hebec Andreje again. A big 0:18:56.800 --> 0:18:59.280 theme of this Olympics is the matchup of Simone and 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:04.479 Hebeca on multiple circumstances. And Habeca has been working on 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:09.480 a new vault, the triple twisting your Chenko, and that 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:12.560 would be named after her if she successfully competed it. 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:16.000 We'll see if she goes for it. A couple gymnasts 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:18.240 have submitted it over the past decade and no one's 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:20.040 been able to put it to their feet in competition. 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:23.199 You know, two more things with vault to pay attention 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.680 to is that Jade Carey for the US is going 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:28.800 to be in the vault final and we expect her 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:32.200 to be a metal favorite. But at the last Olympics 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:36.480 she balked on her final vault and just kind of 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.920 did a tuck in the air. It seemed to get 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:41.240 her steps wrong or something didn't metal. So this is 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:44.080 part of this redemption tour. That's the phrase the US 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:46.440 has been saying. And one other thing about the vault 0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:49.400 final lookout for is a South Korean and a North 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.719 Korean gymnast qualified with the same score into it, and 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.879 it's rare that we see North Korean people outside of 0:19:56.880 --> 0:19:59.680 North Korea, and the Olympics and sports competitions are really 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.760 one of the circumstances. But it's just kind of fascinating 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:06.639 to look at it through that geopolitical ends of foreseeing 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:09.879 of course this political undertones out on the field of play. 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:12.159 Yeah, okay, those are awesome. 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:15.439 Give us the bars, the leader on bars far and away. 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:18.560 I know I'm saying a lot of hyperbolic titles. Greatest 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:23.159 of all time here and there, the unquestionable greatest, uneven 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:26.520 bars gymist who has ever lived is gonna win this 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:30.600 title if she doesn't make a major mistake, even if 0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:32.760